Keyword Insights has a native skill for Claude, Anthropic’s AI assistant. Once set up, you can run your entire keyword research and content planning workflow by chatting with Claude. No manual exports, no switching between tools, no API calls to write yourself.
You can cluster a keyword list, classify search intent, generate content briefs, and trigger the Writer Agent, all from a single conversation.
API access requires a Premium plan. If you are on a lower plan, you will be prompted to upgrade when you try to create an API key.
Prerequisites
Before you start, you will need:
- A Keyword Insights account on the Premium plan
- A KI API key (created from the API Keys section of your dashboard). Your key will start with
kwi_sk_
- Access to Claude with the Keyword Insights skill enabled
If you are using Claude via the API or in an agentic environment, set your API key as an environment variable:
export KWI_API_KEY="kwi_sk_your_key_here"
Where can I get the Skill.MD file?
Download the keyword-insights-SKILL.md
How to install the skill?
Once you download the keyword-insights-SKILL.md open Claude and go to **Settings -> Capabilities **
Click + Add under skills
Select “Upload a skill”
Now upload the keyword-insights-SKILL.md** file. **
Now you have installed the skill.
Next step is to allow our API url to domain allowlist. (no https etc. Paste the url below as it is)
That’s all! Now you’re ready!
What You Can Ask Claude to Do?
Once connected, you can use plain English to trigger any of the following:
| What you say | What Claude does |
|---|
| ”Cluster these keywords for the UK” | Submits a clustering order to KI and returns results |
| ”What is the search intent for this list?” | Runs intent classification across your keyword set |
| ”Generate a content brief for ‘topical authority‘“ | Submits a content brief order and returns the structured brief |
| ”Write a blog article about keyword clustering” | Triggers the Writer Agent (~1,200 credits) |
| “How many credits do I have?” | Fetches your live balance from the KI API |
| ”Build a topical map from this CSV” | Parses your file, clusters it, and summarises the hub structure |
Step 1: Prepare Your Keywords
You can give Claude keywords in two ways.
Upload a CSV file
Export your keyword list from Ahrefs, Semrush, Google Search Console, or any other tool and upload the file directly in the Claude chat. Claude will automatically detect the keyword and search volume columns, handle different file encodings (including Ahrefs UTF-16 exports), and prepare the data for submission.
Paste keywords directly
If you have a short list, paste the keywords into the chat one per line. Include search volumes if you have them. If you do not, Claude will default to zero and the clustering will still work, though results will not be sorted by volume.
A minimum of 5 keywords is required per order.
Step 2: Tell Claude What You Want
Use natural language. Claude will interpret your request and confirm the settings it plans to use before submitting the order.
Some examples:
"Cluster these keywords for the Australian market, desktop, grouping accuracy 5"
"Give me the search intent breakdown for this list"
"Generate a content brief for the keyword 'keyword clustering tool'"
"Cluster this CSV and save the results as a file I can download"
Step 3: Confirm the Settings
Before submitting, Claude will confirm the parameters it is using. The defaults are sensible for most use cases:
| Setting | Default | Options |
|---|
| Language | English (en) | Any supported language code |
| Location | United States | Any country or region |
| Device | Desktop | Desktop, mobile, tablet |
| Grouping accuracy | 4 | 1 (broad) to 7 (strict) |
| Insights | Cluster + Intent | Cluster, intent, rank, or any combination |
Step 4: Wait for the Order to Process
Keyword Insights processes orders asynchronously using live SERP data. Claude will poll for results automatically and update you when they are ready.
Typical processing times:
| Order size | Estimated time |
|---|
| Under 100 keywords | 1 to 3 minutes |
| 100 to 500 keywords | 3 to 10 minutes |
| 500+ keywords | 10+ minutes |
Step 5: Work With Your Results
Once the order is complete, Claude will present a summary in the chat and offer to do more with the data.
For a clustering order, the summary will include:
- Total number of clusters created
- Top clusters by search volume
- Intent distribution across the full keyword set
You can then continue the conversation:
"Save the full results as a CSV"
"Show me all keywords in the top cluster"
"Which clusters should I prioritise for a new website?"
"Generate a content brief for the highest volume cluster"
Credit Costs
| Operation | Approximate cost |
|---|
| Keyword clustering | 1 credit per keyword |
| Intent classification only | Less than full clustering |
| Content brief | ~100 credits |
| Writer Agent (full article) | ~1,200 credits |
Claude will always check your credit balance and warn you before submitting any order that costs a significant number of credits. It will not proceed without your confirmation on Writer Agent orders.
Claude can parse keyword exports from:
- Ahrefs (tab-separated, UTF-16 encoded)
- Semrush (comma-separated, UTF-8)
- Google Search Console (via data export)
- Moz, Mangools, SE Ranking, and most other tools (standard CSV format)
- Plain text pasted directly into the chat
Column names are detected automatically. Claude looks for common variations like Keyword, Search Query, Term, Volume, Search Volume, and Avg. monthly searches.
Tips
- Always specify the target location if you are not targeting the US. Claude defaults to United States.
- Use a higher grouping accuracy (5 or 6) for tighter, more specific clusters. Use a lower setting (2 or 3) if you want broader topic groups.
- For large keyword lists, ask Claude to summarise the top clusters first before diving into the full data.
- You can chain actions in a single session: cluster a list, identify the top hubs, and request briefs for the most important ones without starting a new conversation.
- If you want results saved as a file, just ask. Claude can output a CSV or XLSX and provide a download link.
Troubleshooting
Claude says my API key is invalid
Double-check that your KWI_API_KEY environment variable is set correctly and that the key starts with kwi_sk_. Keys are created from the API Keys section of your KI dashboard.
The order is taking a long time
Large orders (500+ keywords) can take 10 minutes or more. Claude will continue polling and notify you when results arrive. Do not close the conversation. We don’t recommend running large orders using Claude and only use it for smaller orders. For large orders use our API or UI.
I got a credit error
Your balance was insufficient to complete the order. Claude will show your current balance and the cost of the operation. Top up from the Billing section of your KI dashboard and resubmit.
My CSV did not parse correctly
Check that your file has a header row and that the keyword column is labelled in a standard way. If Claude cannot detect the columns automatically, paste a few example rows into the chat and tell it which column is the keyword and which is the volume.
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